Agenda item

The Sub-Committee gave consideration to a report of the Policy Manager which asked Members to review the final scores and comments provided by the advisory panel and agree which applications should receive funding.

Members were informed that the Local Improvement Fund (LIF) was established by the Council in 2019, with the aim of supporting Districts to:

a.    Encourage the active participation of residents and local organisations in improving the quality of life in the local area.

b.    Improve community buildings, equipment and other facilities.

c.    Engage with residents to prioritise schemes that mattered to them.

In 2019/20 the LIF distributed £499,260 to twenty projects across Oldham that reflected the specific and diverse needs of people in the borough.

The LIF had been included in the Council’s budget again in 2021/22, with £500,000 made available. Councillors had been encouraged to propose projects that would help their community recover socially and economically.

The latest round of the LIF launched in June 2021 and required elected members to submit expressions of interest for funding by 23rd July. In total the LIF received 42 expressions of interest.

The LIF Advisory Panel, consisting of representatives from the Labour, Conservative and the Liberal Democrat groups, met in August and scored the expressions of interest, recommending that 25 of the expressions of interest be invited to submit full applications, with 14 not progressed and 3 recommended for additional consideration outside of the LIF. 23 full applications were ultimately submitted for consideration.

The LIF Advisory Panel met on 22nd November and scored the full applications. The Panel recommended that 19 projects with a total value of £482,807 be approved across all five of Oldham’s districts. They recommended that the remaining £17,193 be retained as a contingency fund for the approved projects.

Individual consideration was given to those projects recommended for part or potential funding and the Sub-Committee received further details of those proposals. 

Options/Alternative considered:

·         Option 1 - Do nothing – this was not the preferred option as the funding needed to be allocated in the current financial year.

·         Option 2 - Review the full Advisory Panel recommendations and agree which should receive LIF funding.

RESOLVED – That the sub-committee agreed to the recommendations of the advisory panel with three amendments:

1.    Application 3 - Fully repair the ongoing issues within the OBA Millennium Cultural Centre: The sub-committee agreed to the panel recommendations that £50,000 be provided from the Fund. They specified however that the funds should be used for necessary health and safety improvements rather than other items, including fire doors, the leaking roof, lighting and toilets.

2.    Application 13 – Salmon Fields Highway Improvement: The sub-committee decided to fund this project with the full £25,000 requested, rather than find the final £5,000 from other sources

3.    Application 18 – Refurbish Progress Community Hub: The sub-committee chose to reject this project on the basis that the community benefit was unclear and therefore the Local Improvement Fund was not the appropriate funding source for the project.

4.    As a result of the sub-committee’s decisions they had allocated a total of £467,807, leaving £32,193 available as a contingency fund, recognising rapidly increasing construction costs.